The potential health effects to coastal populations of the dumping of 330,000 tons of radioactively contaminated mud on the coast of Wales, 2.8km from Cardiff.

Dr Busby was asked by individuals in Wales to comment on the proposals by the French nuclear company to dredge up 300,000 tons of radioactive mud from the sea bed near Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset, England, and dump it in the Bristol Channel 2.8km from the Welsh Capital, Cardiff.

Dr Busby has carried out many studies of the cancer and infant mortality effects of living near the contaminated coast near Hinkley Point and the Bristol Channel, including the Welsh coast since 2000. In a new report [link] he shows that if this proposal is allowed by the Welsh Assembly government, the result will be a measurable increase in cancer and ill health in Cardiff and other communities of Wales living near the coast and the tidal rivers Taff and Usk.

He points out that there is no valid reason to dump this material near Wales except to keep it from the holiday beaches in England. He recommends that the dredging is not permitted to go ahead as it will increase cancer rates on both sides of the Bristol Channel, as is shown by the epidemiological cancer mortality studies his group carried out from 1999 to the present day.

SNIP

7. Conclusions and recommendations

Exposure to radioactive material which has a quantifiable probability of causing harm to health must be justified in relation to benefits to balance the harm. In this case, no benefits would accrue to Welsh populations; indeed, the people living near the estuaries would suffer significant harm. It is therefore recommended that the Welsh Assembly oppose the dumping of this material close to the city of Cardiff and indeed close to any part of the Welsh coast

1.This Month

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Changing climate change“2040” paints an optimistic picture of the future of the environment

The film focuses on technological and agricultural solutions that are already being implemented to help combat climate change, The Economist Feb 19th 2019

by C.G. | BERLIN ……….In “2040”, a documentary which premiered at the Berlinale, Mr Gameau seeks to wrest hope from the bleak reports of climate change. He was inspired by Project Drawdown, the first comprehensive plan to reverse global warming, and the film is intended as a “virtual letter to his four-year-old daughter to show her an alternative future”. “Many films,” Mr Gameau thinks, are too dystopian, and “paint a future that is really hard to engage and to connect with”. “2040” acknowledges that the Earth has set off down a hazardous path, but focuses on the work that is being done now to steer the right course. What, the film asks, could make 2040 a time worth living in?…. (subscribers only) https://www.economist.com/prospero/2019/02/19/2040-paints-an-optimistic-picture-of-the-future-of-the-environment